চেয়ারম্যান

Professor Dr. Md. Aftab Ali Shaikh became the Chairman of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) on August 26, 2020. Prior to this position, he served as the Director of the Institute of Leather Engineering and Technology (ILET), University of Dhaka. He is also a professor of the Department of Chemistry, University of Dhaka.

Professor Shaikh completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in Chemistry at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Material Science from the prestigious Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany in 2008 under the supervision of Professor Dr. Thorsten M. Gesing. His research focused on the solid-state materials chemistry, especially on the development of modified electrode materials for various electroanalytical applications. Dr. Shaikh then held two postdoctoral positions respectively at the University of Wuppertal and the University of Bonn, Germany.

Since 1999, Dr. Shaikh has contributed to different academic, administrative and co-curricular development activities at the university, organization and national levels, including:

• Chairman (August 26, 2020 – to date), Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR)
• Professor (2013 - to date), Department of Chemistry, University of Dhaka
• Director (2015-18), Institute of Leather Engineering and Technology (ILET), University of Dhaka
• Editor-in-Chief (2020 - to date), Bangladesh Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research (BJSIR)
• Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Bangladesh Chemical Society
• General Secretary (2018-2020), Bangladesh Chemical Society
• General Secretary (2019-20, 2021-22), Bangladesh Crystallographic Association
• Joint Secretary (2014-15), Bangladesh Chemical Society 
• Joint Secretary (2012-15), Bangladesh Crystallographic Association
• Associate Professor (2009 - 2013), Department of Chemistry, University of Dhaka
• Assistant Professor (2005 - 2009), Department of Chemistry, University of Dhaka
• Lecturer (2000 - 2005), Department of Chemistry, University of Dhaka
• Assistant Proctor (2009-18), University of Dhaka
• Assistant House Tutor (2001-05), Amar Ekushey Hall, University of Dhaka
• Scientific Officer (1999 - 2000), IGCRT, Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR)

Dr. Shaikh is a prominent researcher in material science, especially in crystallography. He significantly contributed to develop modified electrode materials for electroanalytical applications. Besides, he conducted a good number of research and development (R&D) projects and supervised more than 50 MS, M.Phil. and PhD level students. He has currently been working on different cutting-edge research projects, including genomics research. With his genomic research group, he contributed to the invention of a cost-competitive advanced precision COVID-19 detection RT-PCR kit entitled ‘BCSIR-COVID Kit’. This kit has currently been submitted for patent right and is being used in a number of state-run hospitals in Bangladesh. 

Professor Shaikh has published over 100 high-impact factor research articles in numerous prestigious journals. In addition to scientific and scholarly publications, Dr. Shaikh is an eminent writer and editor. He edited the ‘বঙ্গবন্ধুর বিজ্ঞান ভাবনা ও বাংলাদেশ’, a well-praised book on the scientific vision and thought of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920-1975).

Dr. Shaikh is a charismatic organizer. He, as a president of the organizing committee, organized the ever-biggest international scientific conference in Bangladesh's history entitled “International Conference on Science and Technology for Celebrating the Birth Centenary of Bangabandhu (ICSTB-2021)” to celebrate the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Besides, he organized three other international conferences as the president of organizing committee i.e.  “International Conference Environmental Solutions for Sustainable Development: Towards Developed Bangladesh (CESSD 2019)”, “International Conference on Environmental Protection for Sustainable Development (ICEPSD-2022)” and “BCSIR Congress 2022”. Dr. Shaikh is also a good presenter. He has already delivered more than 50 plenaries, keynotes, and oral presentations all around the globe. 

During his entire professional career, Dr. Shaikh has received numerous prestigious awards and competitive research grants. To illustrate, he is the recipient of a total of 16- national and international grants from the European Union (Erasmus + Project; 1 million euro), the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, the University Grants Commission (UGC) Bangladesh, Higher Education Quality Enhancement Program (HEQEP), Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, and from the University of Dhaka. He also received several awards for his scientific contributions, including the ‘Dean's Award-2013’- for best publication in the University of Dhaka in 2013 and the George Kristoff Stipendium award in 2005 etc.

In addition, Professor Shaikh effectively demonstrated his dynamism in academic leadership. During his leadership of only three years at BCSIR, he has changed most of the parameters related to the enhancement of the research and development output of the country’s largest research organization. He mainly focused on developing an enriched research culture in BCSIR, and during his tenure of three years, 375 scientists of BCSIR published 782 Scopus index publications, accounting for 47% of the 67 years of total Scopus index publications.  

Professor Dr. Md. Aftab Ali Shaikh is married to Nasima Akter and they have two children: Nasif Aftab and Nahil Aftab.